What To Know About Home Appraisals

You’ve found your dream home and now it’s time to cross all your T's and dot all your I's before it’s all your own. And one of the first items on your closing checklist the home appraisal. So, what exactly is that?

The home appraisal is essentially a value assessment of the home and property. It is conducted by a certified third party and is used to determine whether the home is priced appropriately.

During a home appraisal, the appraiser conducts a complete visual inspection of the interior and exterior of the home. He or she factors in a variety of things, including the home’s floor plan functionality, condition, location, school district, fixtures, lot size, and more. An upward adjustment is generally made if the home has a deck, a view, or a large yard. The appraiser will also compare the home to several similar homes that were sold within the last six months in the area.

The final report must include a street map showing the property and the ones’ compared, photographs of the interior and exterior, an explanation of how the square footage was calculated, market sales data, public land records, and more.

After it is complete, the lender uses the information found to ensure that the property is worth the amount they are investing. This is a safe-guard for the lender as the home acts as collateral for the mortgage. If the buyer defaults on the mortgage and goes into foreclosure, the lender generally sells the home to recover the money borrowed.

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What To Know About Home Appraisals

Buy Vs. Rent

 

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Buy Vs. Rent

Townhome VS Condo: Whats The Difference?

Whether it’s your first time buying or you just want to purchase something smaller, townhouses and condos are both great options. Check out the differences between the two to help aid you in your search!

Condominiums
Condominiums are similar to apartments in that you purchase an individual unit inside of a larger building, but not the property it sits on. This generally includes access to the building’s amenities, such as the clubhouse, pool, and gym. However, condo owners are not responsible for the upkeep and repair of these common areas. Because of the number of shared spaces, living in a condo often allows for meeting new people and building a strong sense of community. There is a fairly similar vetting process for loan approval as for a full-sized home; however, the lender will also look at the health of the condo association.

Townhouses
Those who purchase a townhome are generally purchasing the complete unit, both inside and out, including the land it sits on. This might also include the driveway, yard, or roof. Traditionally, these units are two- or three-stories tall and may also include common areas like pools and parks. Townhome owners pay a fee to a homeowners association every month and the loan process is the same as buying a full-sized home.

Which is the best choice?
Both townhomes and condos offer less maintenance than a traditional home and generally offer great shared areas. Your decision ultimately comes down to you and your family’s needs and wants. Things you’ll want to take into consideration include location, lifestyle, family growth, and price.

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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Townhome VS Condo: Whats The Difference?

5 Top Tips For The First Time Homebuyer

Owning your first home is one of the biggest milestones in an individual’s life. Once it’s finally all yours, you want to make sure you avoid common rookie mistakes like the ones below.

Starting major renovations right away
With all the excitement and energy from the closing table still lingering, it’s easy to get caught up in home improvements. Before starting a major renovation, give yourself 2 or 3 months of living in your home to really solidify that it’s the right financial investment and what you really want.

Ignoring routine maintenance
Ignoring routine upkeep and maintenance, such as prepping your pipes for winter, clearing gutters, and filling cracks near doors and walls, can cause big issues down the line. Make sure to budget both time and money for these tasks.

Hiring the cheapest option.
If you have a job that a professional, don’t always opt for the cheapest option. Makes sure to get several estimates for the work and look online for reviews. Once you do your research, select the professional you think will do the best job.

Not knowing your property boundaries
During closing, you may receive a survey of your home and property, however it’s crucial you know exactly where your property lines are. Outline this before your start planting or building fences or structures.

Neglecting the exterior of your home 
Once you move in, it’s easy to focus your energy and effort on the interior. But don’t forget to give your exterior some TLC with thoughtful landscaping and regular checks to ensure weeds are taken care of and water is draining correctly. 

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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5 Top Tips For The First Time Homebuyer

What To Repair Before You List

When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the utmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells. Here are our top four recommended repairs to make before selling your home.

Repaint walls.

Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce it up, and generally, it can be a do-it-yourself project. Make sure cover any walls with scratches and chips and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat.

Repair floors.

Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure they look their best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting can go a long way in making dingy tile work look brand new!

Refresh the landscaping.

Show buyers your home is the full package by dressing up the outside as well as the in. Clean walkways and driveways, plant seasonal flowers and plants, trim hedges and trees, install outdoor décor pieces and fill in mulch and gravel.

Fix your fixtures.

Leaky faucet? Rusted drains? Loose drawer handle? Making these small fixes can make a big difference to potential buyers with detailed-orientated minds. Improve your kitchen. An outdated kitchen can be a real eyesore in a home. Updating cabinetry, repairing or replacing countertops, and installing new faucets and sinks may be worth the investment

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What To Repair Before You List

The 2 Main Ways Covid-19 Have Impacted The Real Estate Industry.

Photo by Martin Sanchez

The Covid-19 virus has been like a category 4 Hurricane hitting the entire country as once.  It has shut some industries down completely while changing the way other industries do business.  The situation is fluid and changes daily. For now, here are the two main ways the Corona virus has impacted the real estate industry.

Shelter In Place
Shelter in place is being implemented across the country. The stay at home orders require residents to stay indoors except for certain essential personnel or those who need to go to work in essential businesses and services.  Potential buyers who are under shelter in place will have to forego the traditional way of viewing homes and rely instead on videos and virtual tours.  Additonally, as an agent, unless your local government has deemed real estate an essential business, you will not be able to work. In Denver, Real Estate is an essential business. 

Social Distancing

Real estate brokers have an obligation to exercise reasonable skill and care and should adhere to best practices to protect the general public, their clients, and themselves during this time of uncertainty.  This mean following the recommendations of the federal, state, county, and the Dept of Real Estate.  NAR has suggested agents no longer drive clients to showings. Showing services have stopped overlapping showings with mulitple agents and their clients.  Listing agents are now implementing 3D tours and live streaming open houses and buyer's agents are live streaming home tours for their clients. Some title companies have requested  Lenders and Agents not attend closing and/or have  implemented curb side closing where buyers and sellers will be able to close while sitting in their vehicles. For a limited time, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowing exterior-only appraisels or desktop appraisels for certain transactions.

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The 2 Main Ways Covid-19 Have Impacted The Real Estate Industry.

Top Tips for House Hunting Online

Hunting for a new home online is a great place to start your search, but it should not be your end all be all. Good listing agents are excellent at highlighting the best features of the home, but keep in mind there may be more than meets the eye. To make the most of your time and efforts and gather a well-rounded picture of home listings online, keep the following three things in mind.

Stay up to date. When you start your search, make sure you find a site that pulls up-to-date listings directly from the multiple listing service (MLS) where real estate agents actively post their most current homes for sale. Many online resources update less often or fail to remove listings that are off the market, making it more difficult to sort through the clutter.

Pictures can be deceiving. Real estate photographers are experts at showing a home in the best possible light. Many use tools and strategies to boost appeal, such as a fisheye lens to make areas look larger and creative editing to make colors and textures really pop. But, often listings will not contain photos of unappealing parts of the home, like small closets or outdated bathrooms.


See it to believe it. Once you find what appears to be your dream home online, call up your real estate agent and schedule a showing. You want to take the opportunity to vet the home in person and explore every part of it before beginning the offer process. Your real estate agent will help you cover all your bases and will ask questions you may not have thought of.

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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Top Tips for House Hunting Online

Which Down Payment Strategy Is Right For You

You’ve most likely heard the rule: Save for a 20-percent down payment before you buy a home. The logic behind saving 20 percent is solid, as it shows that you have the financial discipline and stability to save for a long-term goal. It also helps you get favorable rates from lenders.

But there can actually be financial benefits to putting down a small down payment—as low as three percent—rather than parting with so much cash up front, even if you have the money available.

THE DOWNSIDE

The downsides of a small down payment are pretty well known. You’ll have to pay Private Mortgage Insurance for years, and the lower your down payment, the more you’ll pay. You’ll also be offered a lesser loan amount than borrowers who have a 20-percent down payment, which will eliminate some homes from your search.

THE UPSIDE

The national average for home appreciation is about five percent. The appreciation is independent from your home payment, so whether you put down 20 percent or three percent, the increase in equity is the same. If you’re looking at your home as an investment, putting down a smaller amount can lead to a higher return on investment, while also leaving more of your savings free for home repairs, upgrades, or other investment opportunities.

THE HAPPY MEDIUM

Of course, your home payment options aren’t binary. Most borrowers can find some common ground between the security of a traditional 20 percent and an investment-focused, small down payment. Your trusted real estate professional can provide some answers as you explore your financing options.

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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Which Down Payment Strategy Is Right For You

What To Repair Before You List

When you’re getting ready to list your home, it’s of the upmost importance to ensure you are showing it in the best light. Taking time to highlight its strengths and fix up some of its possible weaknesses can make a big difference in how fast it sells. Here are our top five recommended repairs to make before selling your home.

Repaint walls.

Giving your home a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to spruce it up, and generally, it can be a do-it-yourself project. Make sure cover any walls with scratches and chips and consider updating any accent walls with a more neutral coat.

Repair floors.

Hardwood floors are a very desirable feature in a home, so you want to ensure they look their best by fixing scratches or dull areas. If your carpet is worn or stained, consider replacing them. And don’t forget the tile in your kitchen or bathrooms. Re-grouting can go a long way in making dingy tile work look brand new!

Refresh the landscaping.

Show buyers your home is the full package by dressing up the outside as well as the in. Clean walkways and driveways, plant seasonal flowers and plants, trim hedges and trees, install outdoor décor pieces and fill in mulch and gravel.

Fix your fixtures.

Leaky faucet? Rusted drains? Loose drawer handle? Making these small fixes can make a big difference to potential buyers with detailed-orientated minds. Improve your kitchen. An outdated kitchen can be a real eyesore in a home. Updating cabinetry, repairing or replacing countertops, and installing new faucets and sinks may be worth the investment

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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What To Repair Before You List

Great Apps for Easy Home Decorating

Technology has made it easier than ever to bring your home decor ideas to reality. There are countless smartphone apps that help you plan a space or do some valuable comparative shopping. Here are five apps to use on your next decorating project. Most are available on both iOS and Android devices.

Color Capture: Ever see a color that would make for a perfect paint scheme? Benjamin Moore’s Color Capture app allows you to take a photo of anything and instantly get a matching paint color.

iHandyLevel: Hanging photos and artwork? Rather than searching through your toolbox for a level, you can use something that’s already in your pocket: Your phone. The iHandyLevel app functions just as well as a dedicated level, turning your phone into the ultimate picture-hanging companion.

LikeThatDecor: Let’s say you see the perfect Chesterfield sofa in a coffee shop, and you want to see where you could get one of your own. Use the LikeThatDecor app to take a photo of furniture and instantly see similar items from dozens of retailers.

IKEA Catalog: Forget about the nightmare of navigating the parking garage, showroom, and warehouse at your nearest IKEA. The IKEA Catalog app allows you to virtually place furniture in a room. If only there was an app for easy IKEA assembly!

DesignSponge: DesignSponge is one of the best DIY and home decor websites out there. Now there’s an app that makes it easy to access all of their awesome content on your smartphone

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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Great Apps for Easy Home Decorating

5 Inexpensive Home Improvement Projects

The cost of some home renovations can seem daunting, but not every home improvement has to break the bank. Here are five simple improvements you can make that will have a major impact, but are still relatively inexpensive.

 1. Add some trees: Want to add some curb appeal to your home and feel better when you’re pulling into the driveway after work? You won’t believe the difference a few trees can make. And compared to the cost (mature trees starts at around $1,000), they provide a great return on investment for you property value and can lower energy bills by providing shade.

 2. Add molding: Molding instantly adds a classy, sophisticated touch to any room, and if you do it yourself, it can cost less than $2 per foot. If you ever sell your home, buyers consistently say that molding is a big plus.

 3. Upgrade your ceiling fans: An efficient ceiling fan costs far less than air conditioning, and if your current ceiling fan is on its last legs, a replacement can totally change the look of a room.

 4. Energy efficient appliances: Still using the appliances that came with the home? Upgrading your range, fridge, or dishwasher won’t just give your kitchen a sleeker appearance. Newer, more energy-efficient appliances will also lower your utility bills.

 5. Invest in storage: One of the biggest ways to improve your home is to declutter. Throw out what you don’t need, and invest is some good storage solutions for what you keep.

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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5 Inexpensive Home Improvement Projects

How You Can Make Money With Investment Properties

You’re probably well aware that there’s more to real estate than just owning your home. There are countless success stories of people who made a fortune—or even just a comfortable extra income—by investing in real estate. Here’s an overview to get you thinking about an investment property.

Improving a home
Quickly flipping a home is one way to make money off a real estate investment, but it can be risky. A safer play is to buy a fixer upper and carefully manage costs over a year or so as you improve the property. You’re likely to get a great return.

Rental properties
Instead of selling your investment property, you can rent it and make a good monthly profit if the rent exceeds your costs. Renting to a stable, reliable tenant can put extra money in your pocket every month for years on end. You can even hire a property manager to handle repairs, rent collection, and other administrative tasks. And if you’re ever ready to stop dealing with tenants, you can sell the home and profit on the improvements and appreciation of your asset.

Multi-family rental properties
Renting out a single family home is a good starting place for investment properties, but you can get an even better return once you learn the ropes and move on to multi-family homes. Buying an apartment building or dividing a larger home into several apartment units comes with some added complications with taxes and regulations, but it also comes with huge income potential.

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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How You Can Make Money With Investment Properties

BEFORE YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE WITH A FIXER-UPPER, THINK ABOUT RESALE VALUE

We’ve all watched the HGTV programs that show a run-down old house transforming into a dream home. Tackling a big renovation project on an outdated property can indeed pay off big—both with the home of your dreams, and with a return on investment. If resale value is a primary concern, consider these factors as you’re making your fixer-upper plans.

Is the price right?
How much can you invest in a home beyond the sale price while staying in line with the value of homes in the neighborhood? You don’t want to improve a home to the point that it’s worth far more than the norm for the area. You’ll enjoy the property while you’re living there, but if you ever decide to sell, your ROI could be limited by the market value of nearby houses.

Low cost, instant equity
There are a lot of low cost and DIY improvements that will add equity almost immediately, such as rehabbing the landscaping and adding fresh coats of paint. These improvements add value to the property almost instantly.

What’s worth spending on?
A little elbow grease goes a long way, but there will inevitably be projects that require some serious spending. If you’re concerned with getting a return on your investment, focus your dollars toward the roof, floors, and the home’s exterior. They’re not flashy upgrades, but they’re important for future buyers. On the other hand, luxuries like a swimming pool are unlikely to see any return on investment.

When buying or selling a home in the Denver metro area, contact Delilah,

 and let me put my knowledge, experience, expertise, and professionalism to work for you.

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BEFORE YOU TAKE THE PLUNGE WITH A FIXER-UPPER, THINK ABOUT RESALE VALUE